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[mcnessa]

Hi, I am a new member who is 50. I have not had a period for over a year now, thought I was coping with the menopause well until my sleep was affected. I started getting stiff arms through the night and numb fingers. I do suffer with slight arthritis of the spine but was assured by the doctor this was probably menopause related. It was when I would go to bed tired but would be laying awake for several hours was when I knew I needed help.  I went to my GP just over a month ago and was prescribed Everol Conti, I must say within 36hours I had a great nights sleep and the stiffness in the arms stopped (HALLELUJAH). But and now we get to the main problem. EVEROL CONTI has been hard to come by so I had only a 2 weeks supply.  I was given as an alternative of EVEROL SEQUI again 2 weeks supply but I was only to use the Conti patches in the pack, which I did, SO WHY HAS MY SYSTEMS RETURNED - aaaaarrrhhh. And to make matters worse EVEROL CONTI AND EVEROL SEQUI is no longer available so I have been put on FEMSEVEN SEQUI but this time my GP has told me to use all the patches in sequence, which I started yesterday and I had the worst nights sleep I can honestly say I have had ever. Throughout the night my arms kept getting stiff or numb.  Ladies I am beside myself and I am going to have to go back to the GP. What do I do.  I have been instructed by our local pharmacies that all HRT patches are out of stock and the pharmaceutical companies have not instructed anyone when they will be available.  WHAT DO I DO BEFORE I COULD LITERARY GO MAD.

[JaneinPen]

  so sorry to hear that you are struggling. I can't help with answers but there are a lot of our lovely ladies on here that will be having the same issues with supplies and trying to find answers as you and will be along to help with advice very soon

[Sunny99]

I have this sleep thing a couple of times a month. Go to bed and feel wired in my tum and know i'll be awake until after 1am... not found a solution though i'm Afraid!

@Herdwick - I see from your bio it says meno from 42. Can I ask what your initial symptoms are/ how did you know? I'm always told by doc that i'm too young so symptoms brushed off. Thx

[CLKD]

Some GPs don't believe that ladies are in menopause unless they complain of flushes.  Some don't believe 'early' menopause either.

As for aches and pains in the arms, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome happens in pregnancy so stands to reason that it can happen during The Change too.

I would have a word with the local Pharmacist to see what is available etc..

[Katejo]

Hi, I am a new member who is 50. I have not had a period for over a year now, thought I was coping with the menopause well until my sleep was affected. I started getting stiff arms through the night and numb fingers. I do suffer with slight arthritis of the spine but was assured by the doctor this was probably menopause related. It was when I would go to bed tired but would be laying awake for several hours was when I knew I needed help.  I went to my GP just over a month ago and was prescribed Everol Conti, I must say within 36hours I had a great nights sleep and the stiffness in the arms stopped (HALLELUJAH). But and now we get to the main problem. EVEROL CONTI has been hard to come by so I had only a 2 weeks supply.  I was given as an alternative of EVEROL SEQUI again 2 weeks supply but I was only to use the Conti patches in the pack, which I did, SO WHY HAS MY SYSTEMS RETURNED - aaaaarrrhhh. And to make matters worse EVEROL CONTI AND EVEROL SEQUI is no longer available so I have been put on FEMSEVEN SEQUI but this time my GP has told me to use all the patches in sequence, which I started yesterday and I had the worst nights sleep I can honestly say I have had ever. Throughout the night my arms kept getting stiff or numb.  Ladies I am beside myself and I am going to have to go back to the GP. What do I do.  I have been instructed by our local pharmacies that all HRT patches are out of stock and the pharmaceutical companies have not instructed anyone when they will be available.  WHAT DO I DO BEFORE I COULD LITERARY GO MAD.

Where do you live? I asked about availability of Evorel Conti in a Boots branch in Central London last week. They had stock then and weren't aware of a problem. I asked because I knew that some women had had problems. I last got a prescription in May and that was ok.

[mcnessa]

Hello ladies. What a time I am having. I have now been on HRT patches since the 4th June, I initially had a great first 2 weeks, then as you know there was a difficulty in getting HRT patches so had what ever was available. I am currently on Femseven Sequi which don't seem to be helping me at all. I also have had 2 periods in 3 weeks, which I am hoping has now settled. My sleep has been affected again, it usually takes me a while to drop off and the aches and numbness in the hands has returned even though I wear braces on my hands, this time the problem is stemming from my elbows. I have been given a supply of Everol Sequi and am tempted to go onto the Conti patches only, but not sure what to do. I do not feel myself. I am over weight as the doctors would put it but I swim 2-3 times a week and do Yoga every day for about 30 mins. I unfortunately broke my right foot back in January which really set me back with exercise as I used to walk quite a bit but don't seem to have the energy anymore and the foot is still causing me a few problems. I know it's not possible but I want to feel like I did before my period stopped. I always had a lot of energy and was on the go all the time, now I feel like I am dragging myself around and I also keep falling asleep during the day for at least 1 hour+. What am I to do. ANY ADVICE MOST WELCOME.

[CLKD]

Morning!  R U over-weight?   My apron dropped a few years ago and I look fatter than I am    .  As oestrogen levels drop so muscle may become lax so my belly muscle 'went'. 

If you are overweight then your Surgery may have a support Nurse or a Dietician.  The thing is not to deny what you like but to cut back?  MinL went to weight watches as she wanted to lose weight prior 2 our wedding, nearly 43 years ago ;-): they suggested cutting her daily intake into pieces and put onto saucers in the fridge, once the saucers were empty that was it for the day.  It gave her insight into what she was eating.  It worked and she kept the weight off!

Weight of course can increase the chance of diabetis.  Brisk walking helps prevent osteoporosis.  I used to skip  ........ too old for that these days. 

HORMONES ! can cause intense weariness.  The body is trying to adjust.  My periods waxed and waned for several years: would miss for months the get several 'as normal'  fortunately I didn't get crashing fatigue as well.

You are on the right track.  Little steps ;-)

[sheila99]

You should feel OK on evorel sequi too, certainly worth trying if conti is still hard to get. It's usually the conti patches that cause trouble rather than the oestrogen only ones. I think there are some people who are better on continuous progesterone but I have the opposite problem so haven't paid much attention to those posts. There are other options (see under Treatments) but as you've found one that suits you I'd be inclined to stick with it if possible. The supply problems won't last forever.

[Katejo]

Hi, I am a new member who is 50. I have not had a period for over a year now, thought I was coping with the menopause well until my sleep was affected. I started getting stiff arms through the night and numb fingers. I do suffer with slight arthritis of the spine but was assured by the doctor this was probably menopause related. It was when I would go to bed tired but would be laying awake for several hours was when I knew I needed help.  I went to my GP just over a month ago and was prescribed Everol Conti, I must say within 36hours I had a great nights sleep and the stiffness in the arms stopped (HALLELUJAH). But and now we get to the main problem. EVEROL CONTI has been hard to come by so I had only a 2 weeks supply.  I was given as an alternative of EVEROL SEQUI again 2 weeks supply but I was only to use the Conti patches in the pack, which I did, SO WHY HAS MY SYSTEMS RETURNED - aaaaarrrhhh. And to make matters worse EVEROL CONTI AND EVEROL SEQUI is no longer available so I have been put on FEMSEVEN SEQUI but this time my GP has told me to use all the patches in sequence, which I started yesterday and I had the worst nights sleep I can honestly say I have had ever. Throughout the night my arms kept getting stiff or numb.  Ladies I am beside myself and I am going to have to go back to the GP. What do I do.  I have been instructed by our local pharmacies that all HRT patches are out of stock and the pharmaceutical companies have not instructed anyone when they will be available.  WHAT DO I DO BEFORE I COULD LITERARY GO MAD.

Where do you live? I asked about availability of Evorel Conti in a Boots branch in Central London last week. They had stock then and weren't aware of a problem. I asked because I knew that some women had had problems. I last got a prescription in May and that was ok.

Further to my earlier reply in June, I cannot get Evorel Conti from any pharmacies near to me now. The one which I tried in May is now out of stock. When i last requested a repeat from the GP, it was refused because other patients had taken prescriptions but were unable to obtain any. I persuaded the pharmacist to let me have the prescription so that I could try other places. I found one but it only had a partial box of 16 patches. I decided to take that to cover me temporarily.
Then, on Friday 2nd, I discovered the following website   https://www.theindependentpharmacy.co.uk/  which appeared to be offering evorel conti so I emailed to ask how they could supply it. given the shortages.  The lady who replied said that they had stock because they were larger than community pharmacies and that I only had to supply them with an NHS prescription to avoid the charges displayed on their website.  Has anyone ever tried it? Was there a catch?

I haven't yet had the chance to test it because I will have to convince my practice to give me a prescription first. Yesterday I tried to visit 2 local pharmacies to ask about this option (eg. why they don't tell patients about it) but both were closed.